Cmtm4 deficiency exacerbates colitis by inducing gut dysbiosis and S100A8/9 expression

The dysfunction of innate immunity components is one of the major drivers for ulcerative colitis (UC), and increasing reports indicate that gut microbiome serves as an intermediate between genetic mutations and UC development. Here, we find that the IL-17 receptor subunit, CMTM4, is reduced in UC patients and DSS-induced colitis. The deletion of CMTM4 (Cmtm4-/-) in mice leads to a higher susceptibility to DSS-induced colitis in comparison to wildtype, and the gut microbiome significantly changes in the composition. The causal role of gut microbiome is confirmed with co-housing experiment. We further identify that S100a8/9 is significantly up-regulated in Cmtm4-/- colitis, with the block of its receptor RAGE that reverses the phenotype associated with the CMTM4 deficiency. CMTM4 deficiency rather suppresses S100a8/9 expression in vitro via the IL17 pathway, further supporting that the elevation of S100a8/9 in vivo is most likely a result of microbial dysbiosis. Taken together, the results suggest that CMTM4 is involved in the maintenance of the intestinal homeostasis, suppression of S100a8/9, and prevention of the colitis development. Our study further shows CMTM4 as a crucial innate immunity component, confirming its important role in the UC development and providing insights into potential targets for development of future therapies.

Comparison of 18 F-FDG and 18 F-FAPI PET/CT Findings of Signet-Ring Cell Carcinoma of the Stomach

ABSTRACT

A 66-year-old man with gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma underwent both 18 F-FDG and 18 FAl-NOTA-FAPI PET/CT imaging. There was no abnormal FDG activity in the stomach, but there was diffuse intense 18 FAl-NOTA-FAPI uptake in the known lesion and an adjacent metastasis.

Estrogen as a guardian of auditory health: Tsp1-CD47 axis regulation and noise-induced hearing loss

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to analyze the role of estrogen in noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and uncover underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

An ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rat model (OVX) was constructed to investigate the hearing threshold and auditory latency before and after noise exposure using the auditory brainstem response (ABR) test. The morphological changes were assessed using immunofluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Proteomics and bioinformatics were used to analyze the mechanism. The findings were further verified through western blot and Luminex liquid suspension chip technology.

RESULTS

After noise exposure, OVX rats exhibited substantially elevated hearing thresholds. A conspicuous delay in ABR wave I latency was observed, alongside increased loss of outer hair cells, severe collapse of stereocilia and pronounced deformation of the epidermal plate. Accordingly, OVX rats with estrogen supplementation exhibited tolerance to NIHL. Additionally, a remarkable upregulation of the thrombospondin 1 (Tsp1)-CD47 axis in OVX rats was discovered and verified.

CONCLUSIONS

OVX rats were more susceptible to NIHL, and the protective effect of estrogen was achieved through regulation of the Tsp1-CD47 axis. This study presents a novel mechanism through which estrogen regulates NIHL and offers a potential intervention strategy for the clinical treatment of NIHL.

Antitumor effect of luteolin proven by patient-derived organoids of gastric cancer

Luteolin (Lut) has been shown to inhibit gastric cancer (GC); however, its efficacy compared to other clinical drugs has not been examined in human samples. This study aimed to elucidate the antitumor activity of Lut in GC patient-derived organoids (PDOs). PDOs were established from GC cancer tissues, and the characterization of tissues and PDOs was performed using whole-exome sequencing. Drug sensitivity tests were performed by treating PDOs with Lut, norcantharidin (NCTD), and carboplatin (CP). RNA sequencing of PDOs was performed to elucidate the antitumor mechanism of Lut, which was further verified in three GC cell lines. Eleven PDOs were successfully constructed, and were highly consistent with the pathophysiology and genetic changes in the corresponding tumors. The IC50s of Lut, NCTD, and CP of PDOs were 27.19, 23.9, and 37.87 μM, respectively. Lut treatment upregulated FOXO3, DUSP1, and CDKN1A expression and downregulated IL1R1 and FGFR4 expression in GC cell lines, which was consistent with the results of PDOs. We demonstrate that Lut exerted stronger antitumor effects than CP, but a similar effect to that of NCTD, which was obtained in an in vitro PDO system. Additionally, Lut exerted varying degrees of antitumor effects against the PDOs, thereby indicating that PDO may be a useful preclinical drug screening tool for personalized treatment.

Patient-derived organoid culture of gastric cancer for disease modeling and drug sensitivity testing

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer treatment is complicated by the molecular heterogeneity of human tumor cells, which limits the efficacy of standard therapy and necessitates the need for personalized treatment development. Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) are promising preclinical cancer models, exhibiting high clinical efficacy in predicting drug sensitivity, thus providing a new means for personalized precision medicine.

METHODS

PDOs were established from surgically resected gastric cancer tumor tissues. Molecular characterization of the tumor tissues and PDOs was performed using whole-exome sequencing analysis. Drug sensitivity tests were performed by treating the PDO cultures with 21 standard-of-care drugs corresponding to patient treatment. We evaluated whether the PDO drug phenotype reflects the corresponding patient's treatment response by comparing the drug sensitivity test results with clinical data.

RESULTS

Twelve PDOs that satisfied the drug sensitivity test criteria were successfully constructed. PDOs closely recapitulated the pathophysiology and genetic changes in the corresponding tumors, and exhibited different sensitivities to the tested drugs. In one clinical case study, the PDO accurately predicted the patient's sensitivity to capecitabine and oxaliplatin, and in a second case study the PDO successfully predicted the patient's insensitivity to S-1 chemotherapy. In summary, six of the eight cases exhibited consistency between PDO drug susceptibility test results and the clinical response of the matched patient.

CONCLUSIONS

PDO drug sensitivity tests can predict the clinical response of patients with gastric cancer to drugs, and PDOs can therefore be used as a preclinical platform to guide the development of personalized cancer treatment.

Chronic Active Hepatitis B with COVID-19 in Pregnancy: A Case Report

Currently, infection with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), during pregnancy is a problem worthy of attention, especially in patients with underlying diseases. In this case report, we present a case of chronic active hepatitis B with COVID-19 in pregnancy. A 31-year-old woman at 29 weeks of gestation who had a history of chronic hepatitis B virus infection discontinued antiviral treatment, was admitted to the hospital with chronic active hepatitis B, and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this case, we applied liver protective and antiviral agents, and low-dose dexamethasone therapy to successfully treat the critically ill pregnant woman suffering from chronic active hepatitis B combined with COVID-19.

Circulating miR-19a-3p and miR-483-5p as Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers for the Early Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer

Background

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are attracting substantial interest as promising noninvasive biomarkers for gastric cancer (GC). Our study aimed to identify circulating miRNAs that are potential noninvasive markers for precancerous lesions and early gastric cancers (EGCs).

Material/Methods

Plasma specimens were obtained from 58 gastritis subjects, 54 patients with precancerous lesions, and 38 EGC patients for study.

Results

Significant differences in the plasma expression levels of miR-19a-3p, miR-22-3p, miR-146a-5p, and miR-483-5p (all P<0.05) were observed between EGC patients and gastritis subjects. Multivariable analysis showed that age (OR, 1.054; 95% CI, 1.006–1.104), miR-19a-3p expression (OR, 3.676; 95% CI, 1.914–7.061), and miR-483-5p expression (OR, 1.589; 95% CI, 1.242–2.033) were independently associated with EGCs and precancerous lesions. A combined diagnostic model incorporating these 3 variables for the prediction of EGCs and precancerous lesions was derived. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the model was 0.84; the sensitivity was 87.7% and the specificity was 62.8% at the cutoff value of −0.08.

Conclusions

Plasma miR-19a-3p and miR-483-5p are promising and powerful noninvasive markers for the early detection of GC. Patients are more willing to undergo noninvasive diagnostic procedures than gastroscopy for cancer screening, economizing limited medical resources.

A case report of a patient with high β-hCG levels after operation because of primary broad ligament pregnancy

INTRODUCTION

A broad ligament pregnancy is an extremely rare condition and diagnosis is frequently missed and finally made during laparotomy. This is a case of a young patient with high serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels after operation because of broad ligament pregnancy.

CASE REPORT

A 31-year-old multipara complained of intermittent lower abdominal pain with vaginal bleeding for four months. A color ultrasonography revealed a cystic mass in the left attachment area, indicating an interstitial tubal pregnancy. However, trophoblastic disease could not be excluded. She accepted conservative treatment with methotrexate (MTX) at first, but observation showed that conservative treatment was slow and accompanied with liver function damage. Therefore, exploratory laparotomy was performed. Intraoperative situations and postoperative pathology confirmed broad ligament pregnancy. Her serum p- hCG was sustained at a high level for three months after operation. Her examinations of serum, CT, and ultrasonography could explain this situation.

CONCLUSION

Primary broad ligament pregnancy refers to pregnancy where implantation of the fertilized ovum occurs directly between the two leaves of the broad ligament. The gravid substance was removed, however serum β-hCG could not gradually re- turn to normal levels. This case should be followed-up closely to prevent adverse outcomes.

A novel high-content CNT-reinforced SiC matrix composite-fiber by precursor infiltration and pyrolysis process

A novel carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced SiC matrix composite-fiber with excellent mechanical, electrical, and thermal resistant properties was fabricated.

Deep infiltrating endometriosis in young women

This work aimed to analyze the effect of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) in young women. Twenty-seven cases of patients (below 38-years-old) diagnosed with DIE and admitted to the present hospital from January 2008 to July 2014 were reviewed, and their pre- and postoperative states of illness were summarized. The main preoperative symptoms included dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, nodule in rectouterine fossa, and reduced level of fertility. All patients underwent surgery (17 laparoscopies and ten laparotomies). Postoperative pathological explanation confirmed DIE in lesions. DIE significantly affects the health of young women.

Whole genome expression profiling of gastric high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia with or without cancer

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the whole genome expression profiles between gastric high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) tissues with cancer and HGIN tissues without cancer.

METHODS

Gastric specimens from an upper magnifying chromoendoscopic targeted biopsy were collected at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from March 2010 to May 2013. Each of the forceps biopsies from the 21 patients was HGIN,but there were 10 HGIN and 11 HGIN with cancer after the endoscopic submucosal dissection. The whole genome expression profiling was performed on 10 HGIN samples and 11 HGIN with cancer samples using Agilent 4 × 44K Whole Human Genome microarrays. Differentially expressed genes between different types of lesions were identified using an unpaired t-test and corrected with the Benjamini and Hochberg false discovery rate algorithm. A gene ontology(GO)enrichment analysis was performed using the GeneSpring software GX 12.6.

RESULTS

The gene expression patterns were different between HGIN tissues with cancer and HGIN tissues without cancer. There were 470 significantly differentially expressed transcripts between them (P<0.05,Fold Change>2), with 180 up-regulated genes and 290 down-regulated genes in HGIN tissues with cancer. A GO enrichment analysis demonstrated that the most striking over-expressed transcripts in HGIN with cancer were in the category of triglyceride biosynthetic process,acylglycerol biosynthetic process,neutral lipid biosynthetic process,glycerol ether metabolic process,organic ether metabolic process,and glycerolipid metabolic process.

CONCLUSION

The change of lipid metabolism may contribute to the pathogenesis of gastric cancer at an early stage.

[Correlation study of in vitro tests with clinical response to ALG therapy in patients with severe aplastic anemia]

Fourteen patients with severe aplastic anemia were treated with antilymphocyte globulin (ALG). Eight were studied with co-culture of patient's lymphocytes with normal bone marrow cells. Suppression of CFU-C was prevented by pretreatment of T lymphocytes with anti-T lymphocyte McAb in four patients and concordance with clinical outcome was observed only in two patients. Conclusive in vivo therapy result for this correspondence are lacking. Seven patients received fetal liver cell suspension infusion 24-36 hours after completing ALG therapy and remission were "more complete" in three cases with good response. Response of treatment in the fourteen patients was as follows: eight had complete or partial responses and the remaining did not respond or died (42.8%).